


Ethereal boy

by lesbianbitchboy



Category: Tiny Meat Gang (Band)
Genre: Cody's a recovering alcoholic, Fluff and Angst, It's angsty but it's gonna be alright, M/M, Noel's in love, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Theyre ok now and thats all that matters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:07:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27616019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbianbitchboy/pseuds/lesbianbitchboy
Summary: "Your mouth tastes fresh, like mint," Noel stated, probably not understanding the weight of his words. Cody sort of felt like crying.Or, Cody's struggling with his booze, until Noel comes around.
Relationships: Aleena (Tiny Meat Gang)/Kelsey Kreppel, Cody Ko/Noel Miller
Comments: 3
Kudos: 41





	Ethereal boy

The frosted glass burnt in his hand, yet the sensation felt chilling enough not to let go off. He raised the drink to his lips, letting the spirits flow down his throat to his stomach. The beverage tasted familiar, probably some kind of watered-down beer, and it was just barely adequate. 

On any other night, he would've swigged the entire bottle, looking for a short buzz, but tonight, he just held his frosted glass, the same that had been shoved in his hand the second the first guests came through the front door, taking sips here and there.

And maybe he missed it - watching the crowd of drunken friends and acquaintances whilst being all but short of sober had felt like a punch to the gut some time ago. Still sort of did. Two years ago, he'd wanted to be there in the middle again, dancing a bit too close with some stranger, popping a line and downing his fifth (sixth?) Jack and coke. But today, he was almost okay with watching the people sway to the music (something techno), downing shots on the table before him (Bacardi Rum - his favourite), and playing beer pong on the living room table (they all sucked), even though he didn't participate. 

Didn't? Couldn't? He didn't linger on the thought.

He raised the glass to his lips once more, letting a few drips in. He scrunched his face at the taste, and lowered the drink to the table, allowing for some drunk to swap it from him. 

Alcohol tastes like bad memories and then it just tastes like juice.

At least it did, for a long time. For many years, way too many years, he'd go out with his friends and they would down shot after shot on a Thursday night. They'd stumble into class, still drunk, and they'd ignore their professor's angry growl. They were college kids, who cares? 

Then they'd get wasted on a Monday in Amsterdam, playing off their drunken behaviour on free weed and summer break. Except it maybe wasn't summer break, but the summer after their graduation, when their former classmates were out looking for a job or a place to stay, and they were dancing with ill-tasting mouths and coked-up heads till the sun would rise. 

Then they'd drink to obliviation at the office Christmas party, struggling to stand and slurring their words. They'd laugh at their coworkers, in their grey pantsuits and with bland ciders in hand. Cider was for pussies - that was declared - and they weren't pussies, they'd chant as they shared swigs from their bottle of tequila. But hey, they were just a bunch of kids, right? Except they weren't, not anymore. Now they were 25-year-olds with issues. 

Then they were fewer. Some guys had gotten their shit together, some tried, some failed. The majority of his friends had not. He wasn't sure if he wanted to. Maybe this was all life was? Maybe he was destined to be there, like that. Always at the centre of attention - both the good and the bad. Always having a good time, always dancing, yet no matter how much he brushed his teeth, never got rid of his ill-tasting tongue.

So alcohol tasted like juice and then it tasted just like bad memories.

Until a man danced into his life. The cliché was not above him; the drunken fuck-up met his knight in shining armour. Except it wasn't a shining armour, but a military-green bomber jacket and a buzzcut, paired with most ethereal hazel eyes he'd ever seen.

He'd made a fool out of himself, of course. He'd stumbled over to the man and swung his arm around his shoulder to steady himself. The music was loud, yet he recalls hearing his own heartbeat as he drunkenly laid his head on the man's shoulder. 

"Do I know you?" The man had said, and if he hadn't taken that last shot he probably would've gone beet red at the question. Now, he just laughed and whispered in the man's ear how he thinks they'd met in a dream of his once. If he got a bit flustered when the man asked him if had a ride home, that was his business. 

He doesn't remember what happened next, but he woke up in a comfortable bed with all his clothes still on, so that was a plus. Didn't always happen. He'd gone out to the kitchen and spotted the man from last night sitting on top of the kitchen island, sipping coffee and looking at something on his laptop. His breath had gotten caught in his windpipe, that's how grand the man had been. 

They had breakfast together, and he'd gotten the guy's number (something he prided himself with). He left the man's house with a pat on the back and a "take care of yourself, man". 

The hours dragged onto to days and weeks until the shame over their first greeting had cooled down and he picked up his phone, scrolling through his contacts until his number popped up on the screen. 

They'd gone out for lunch, talking about their careers. Turns out they were both comedians, as well as software developers, and he'd tipped him off that his company, the one he had started working at after he'd gotten fired from his last after the Christmas party, had an open spot. The man had nodded and paid for the lunch, before leaving and driving off. 

He'd watched his car drive off, still sitting at the table and fidgeting with the receipt in his hand. He'd stopped when he noticed a small scribble on the backside and brought it closer for a better look.

_ lunch was great! today's Friday - take it easy tonight. And call if you need anything. blessings my guy, xx Noel _

They'd continued to meet up, always finding excuses to spend time together. Their desks at Fullscreen were linked at the hip, just like the two, and he found himself drawn further and further to the hazel-eyed man every day. Ready to do whatever just to be near him. 

Until one day, when Noel had asked him on their fifth (sixth?) date about alcohol. Of course, he thought, of course, Noel had picked up on the manic behaviour of his - he'd obviously known from countless drunken texts and Snapchat's that he enjoyed his liquor, but he hadn't realised that he'd also caught on to his raging problem. Alcohol was a large - if not the largest - part of his life. Tragic, as might be. And cutting it out was both the easiest and hardest decision in his life. 

But Noel had given him an ultimatum; "This, us, can only happen if you cut out that shit, man. No binge drinking, no drugs, and no going out on weekdays. You dig?".

He'd just nodded, relishing in knowing he'd change his life for the man in front of him. 

That was well over two years ago, he thought as he pushed through the crowd, trying to reach the kitchen. He opened the cupboard and grabbed a glass, filling it up with the raspberry-infused water Noel always clowned him over. There were people everywhere, almost all people he'd met after meeting Noel.

Devon was there, and so was Sam, both sporting non-alcoholic IPA's and big smiles. He went over and patted them both on their backs, congratulating them on two years sober. Well, not sober-sober, but sober in the context of "One beer every other week, or a bit more" kind of sober. They lighted up and patted him on his back as well.

"Yeah man, congrats to you too! And tell your man I wish him the best birthday sex ever," Devon replied. He rolled his eyes but gave him a half hug, excusing himself to go and find his boyfriend. 

It wasn't hard, gathering that he stood in the middle of their living room, dancing to the upbeat music, with the crowd around him cheering him on. The "30 and skill kicking" glasses he had gotten him were on, alas upsidedown, and his eyes were sparkling with glee. 

"Cody! Come here, baby!" Noel yelled, slurring a bit, as he spotted his boyfriend from across the room. Cody walked over, water in hand, smiling brightly at his boyfriend. His partner, both in life and in business. 

He slung his arm around Noel, just like their first night together and asked him "you having fun?". Noel looked into his eyes and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Yeah, babe, it's fucking awesome, man." Cody offered a small  _ that's good _ , then took him by the hand, dipping him down and kissing him deeply. The crowd cheered and when the paired separated, he bowed dramatically. 

"Your mouth tastes fresh, like mint," Noel stated, probably not understanding the weight of his words. Cody sort of felt like crying. Happy tears, of course.

The night had ended with Kelsey, Aleena, Noel and himself sitting in the pair's kitchen. Aleena had her head rested in Kelsey's lap, and Cody was curled up under his now practically sober boyfriend's arm. The gang chatted slowly, from reviewing old party pictures (all of which gave Cody a little bit of a stomach ache) to discussing their living situations.

After Cody and Noel had realised that Noel's closet was basically 50% Cody's clothes, they decided to try and find somewhere to live. Noel wanted downtown, but Cody wanted somewhere suburban, so they met in the middle and drove their stuff over to Venice Beach. That way Cody could surf whenever he felt like it, Noel could still enjoy the city sounds (he'd found himself craving sounds and movement around him, one of the better things that LA had to offer) and the pair flourished. Plus, the bandwidth was from the heavens, which drastically helped with the pair's careers. The number of times Noel had thrown a fit over slow rendering or poor video quality was astounding, and Cody praised the lords of 5G for the improvement.

Kelsey, Cody's only best friend since high school (the one that had been with him through it all) had joined him on a double date with Noel and his best friend, Aleena. The two had gotten along  _ really well _ , something Noel had figured out after letting himself into Aleena's apartment without knocking. The pair had joined them in Venice after three months or so, and the gang were now neighbours. 

So there they sat, on the couch, with Cody and Aleena slowly drifting into sleep and Noel and Kelsey cleaning up the trash from the party earlier. The black trash bags were filled and taken out, and the drinks were all emptied as the clocked ticked on from 2.59 to 3 AM. 

Noel grabbed his lulled out boyfriend under the legs and carried him to their bedroom, letting him down gently and removing his jeans and shirt. He gave him a quick kiss on the temple before saying bye to Kelsey, with a sleeping girlfriend in her arms as well, and stripping down to his boxers.

Cody's dirty blonde hair spread out over his chest, and he allowed his fingers to run through it. The man was fast asleep and his features were slack and relaxed. Noel's eyes got warm and wet at the sight of the ethereal boy. His boy. His beautiful, beautiful boy, with faults like anybody else, but an unparalleled desire to grow. To be better, to evolve. He was so proud of Cody, so proud that his heart hurt.

He kissed his forehead and snuggled closer to his sleeping boyfriend.

"Goodnight, baby".

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading, hope yall liked it! Comments n kudos hella appreciated :)


End file.
